Meeting

Making Acquaintances

After obtaining his first soul ring, Huo Yuhao could clearly feel that his cultivation had improved greatly. In particular, his strengthened physical condition made the journey much easier for him.

However, there was still a gap between his speed and Ye Qingchen's. A gentle stream of Soul Power flowed from Ye Qingchen's hand, practically carrying him along as they ran, so Huo Yuhao barely needed to expend any effort himself.

As they walked, Ye Qingchen said to Huo Yuhao, "Little Yuhao, as long as you diligently cultivate the technique I gave you, you'll definitely gain something from it. Let me first explain the key points for circulating the Yin-Yang Creation Art. Remember them well."

"Alright." Huo Yuhao nodded.

As Ye Qingchen explained the cultivation method of the Yin-Yang Creation Art to Huo Yuhao, he tirelessly went over every detail. Whenever Huo Yuhao encountered something he did not understand, Ye Qingchen explained it in a simple, accessible way.

Before they knew it, the main road had vanished, replaced by dense forest all around them. The air became fresher, yet a faintly oppressive aura drifted out from the depths of the forest.

"Yuhao, watch out." Ye Qingchen's expression changed. Dragon wings sprouted from his back as he abruptly raised his right hand and made a grasping motion toward Huo Yuhao. The two of them flew backward.

A pitch-black shadow instantly struck the ground with a soft puff. Immediately afterward, a rich, sweet fragrance rushed toward them.

Huo Yuhao felt his head swim, but an icy current instantly surged out from within him, sealing his mouth and nose. A breath of icy mist drifted from his mouth and nostrils, dispersing the small amount of sweet, poisonous gas he had inhaled into the air.

Four soul rings—one purple and three black—circled Ye Qingchen's body. Naturally, those soul rings had been fabricated.

A four-ring Soul Ancestor, and Ye-dage's soul rings included one thousand-year ring and three ten-thousand-year rings.

Among soul rings, white represented ten years, yellow represented a hundred years, purple represented a thousand years, while the higher-ranked black represented ten thousand years. If a powerful hundred-thousand-year soul beast became a soul ring, it would be red.

The shadow that had landed on the ground instantly sprang up and lunged straight at Ye Qingchen.

Ye Qingchen snorted coldly. A layer of purple light flickered in his eyes as he swept his right arm horizontally. At once, a web of fire spread through the air, blocking the shadow's path.

"A Mandala Snake, at the thousand-year level."

Huo Yuhao also saw the shadow that had attacked them clearly. It was a large peach-pink snake about three meters long, with a small flower-shaped protrusion on its forehead.

"Yuhao, watch carefully. I'll demonstrate the Three Thousand Thunder Illusory Body for you." As Ye Qingchen spoke, he instantly appeared right before the Mandala Snake.

"What incredible speed. The naked eye couldn't detect any trace of its path at all. The Three Thousand Thunder Illusory Body truly lived up to its reputation for speed." Huo Yuhao analyzed Ye Qingchen's footwork as he watched.

"I have to help Ye-dage." Huo Yuhao swiftly activated his Soul Power and poured it into his Spirit Eye. The soul skill he had just acquired immediately surfaced in his mind.

A pale golden glow once again emerged in his deep blue eyes, while a gleaming white soul ring rose from beneath his feet.

Under Ye Qingchen's gaze, the Time Flow seemed to slow, and everything around him became exceptionally clear.

"Not bad. As expected of a million-year soul beast's skill. Though this million-year soul beast is a bit watered down, it's still decent." Ye Qingchen thought to himself.

Ye Qingchen did not waste any time either. His dragon claw directly seized the Mandala Snake by the neck. Just then, two figures suddenly approached from afar. "Aren't those the two from the Tang Sect?"

"Hello, I'm Tang Ya. Could you give this Mandala Snake to us?" Tang Ya asked.

"Fine. This soul beast is useless to me anyway, so you can have it." Ye Qingchen waved a hand as he spoke.

Tang Ya looked at Bei Bei and giggled. "I didn't expect things to go so smoothly. Help protect me."

As she spoke, she quickly sat down cross-legged beside the Mandala Snake. A blue gleam lit up around her right hand. Raising her slender hand, she lightly tapped the purple soul ring above the Mandala Snake. Immediately, the purple soul ring was drawn in by the blue light in her hand and began merging into her body.

"Hello, let's get acquainted. My name is Bei Bei." Bei Bei extended his hand as he spoke.

"My name is Ye Qingchen, and this is my younger brother, Huo Yuhao." Ye Qingchen reached out to shake his hand, then gestured to Huo Yuhao behind him.

"Hello, Brother Bei Bei. My name is Huo Yuhao," Huo Yuhao said.

"Yuhao, you know how to cook, right?" Ye Qingchen asked.

"I do." Huo Yuhao was naturally pressed into service once again.

Ye Qingchen tossed a ball of lightning into the lake, and more than a dozen black carp floated up belly-up, stunned by the electricity. They immediately had food.

Huo Yuhao did not fall asleep just then. Enduring the dual exhaustion of body and mind, he asked Ye Qingchen to guide him as he began his first cultivation session of the Yin-Yang Creation Art.

The circulation route of the Yin-Yang Creation Art was far more complicated than Huo Yuhao's original basic meditation method. It involved at least ten times as many meridians as before. Many of those channels had never even had Soul Power pass through them.

To ensure Huo Yuhao's safety during cultivation, Ye Qingchen sat cross-legged behind him, pressing both hands against his back. He slowly sent his own Soul Power into Huo Yuhao's body, guiding Huo Yuhao's Soul Power through the first cycle of cultivation.